SEC Notebook: Spurrier to ban players from Twitter?

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Steve Spurrier said this week he planned to ban his players from the social networking site Twitter, but that ban doesn’t appear to be in place.

Spurrier told ESPNU Campus Connections reporter Kassidy Hill, a student at Alabama, of his plan during a Wednesday interview at SEC Media Days. He planned to tell his players during a Thursday team meeting, he said.

"We have some dumb, immature players who put crap on their Twitter, and we don’t need that so the best thing to do is just ban it," Spurrier said. "Hopefully, they will accept it because we find out all the stupid things that some of the guys put on there. They can let their girlfriends do their Twittering for them."

However, some of the Gamecocks most prolific Twitter users, including Alshon Jeffery, Damario Jeffery, Stephon Gilmore, Martay Mattox and Akeem Auguste, all posted messages on their accounts Friday.

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"Using your energy on stuff like that is a waste of time," Nutt said. "It’s a waste of time."

Nutt, who said his team recruited better than the Bulldogs last season, already has expressed frustration with Mullen’s habit of referring to his team as "that school up north" rather than Ole Miss. Mullen has won the Egg Bowl in each of his two seasons at Mississippi State.

"The reason they’re loud right now is they have won the last two," Nutt said.

LOADED: Alabama is still trying to figure out who its starting quarterback will be, but there are few questions about the Crimson Tide defense.

Five of Alabama’s defenders were named first team All-SEC -- lineman Josh Chapman, linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw and defensive backs Mark Barron and Robert Lester.

"I think we have some good players coming back on defense that have talent and experience," Saban said. "Are we going to take that talent and experience and challenge ourselves to a high standard or is that going to create a comfort zone for our players."

MUM’S THE WORD: LSU head coach Les Miles said Friday he has been told not to make any comments about recruiting service owner Willie Lyles.

"We look for film and video wherever we can find it," Miles said. "That’s really all I can say."Lyles is at the center of an NCAA investigation into Oregon’s football program and also sold recruiting material to LSU.

STATE SECRETS: Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino was upset after former Razorback quarterback Ryan Mallett flashed some of the team’s play-calling hand signals on national television during an interview with ESPN’s Jon Gruden.

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"They’ve been changed," Petrino said. "I wasn’t real happy with him when I was informed that he did that. He called me up and apologized."

UNDER THE RADAR: Florida’s players are having to adjust to reduced expectations in their first year without head coach Urban Meyer. The Gators were lauded for their recruiting under Meyer, but those players have yet to make a name for themselves on the collegiate level.

The Gators don’t have any first-team preseason All-SEC selections on anyone’s list. The SEC’s coaches put only three Florida players on their three All-SEC teams (Demps, second team; linebacker Jon Bostic, third team; linebacker Jelani Jenkins, third team). The media only put one Gator (Bostic) on its three teams, not including special teams.

"We care about it," defensive end William Green said. "I think everyone has a chip on their shoulder. We want to be our best every Saturday and just try to get back to Atlanta."

EXTRA POINTS

• The SEC will get its own documentary series on ESPN starting in September. The league and network plan to produce four per year, and the first of what will be called the "Storied" series will feature former Georgia running back Herschel Walker.

• The SEC had 1,600 hours of event programming last year.

• Alabama put up signs in the locker room that read "Never Again" and are a reference to last year’s loss to Auburn.

• More than 1,000 media members were credentialed for this year’s event.